Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,747 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Watsco were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Watsco by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,325,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,013,220,000 after acquiring an additional 14,122 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 9.8% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,715,254 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $409,638,000 after purchasing an additional 152,610 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $351,841,000 after acquiring an additional 41,148 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,127,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $343,617,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.8% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,006,680 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $240,415,000 after acquiring an additional 54,928 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Watsco from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Watsco from $300.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Watsco in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Watsco from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.67.

Watsco Price Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $293.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.89. Watsco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.68 and a twelve month high of $343.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 2.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $290.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.31.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The construction company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.23. Watsco had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Watsco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watsco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 17th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Watsco’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.20. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.60%.

Watsco Company Profile

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Watsco, Inc engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment and related parts. Its products include residential central air conditioners, gas, electric & oil furnaces, commercial air conditioning & heating equipment, and other specialized equipment and parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors and other component parts and supplies, including thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies.